Denny Miller (Home and Away)

Denise, or Denny as she preferred to be called, has always been a bit of a tomboy. Since she could walk and talk, she’s thought of herself as a tough nut; refusing to play with dolls or wear anything girlie. Instead, she always saw herself as the man of the house. This could be because there was no other man around.[4]

— An excerpt from Denny's profile on the official Home and Away website.

Ahead of her first appearance, Smith described Denny as an honest and "pretty straight up" character, who was "not your typical girl".[1] The actress later said that Denny is a tomboy and very self-sufficient.[5] Smith was pleased that Denny was also a tomboy like herself, saying "It's really nice sharing that with her. It means I don't have to wear too many of the high heels that I'm terrible at walking in."[2] The actress later said that she would advise Denny "to let loose a little more" and relax, as she was always doing the right thing.[6]

Denny arrived in Summer Bay on the day of Ethan MacGuire's (Matt Minto) funeral, attracting scepticism and worry from Ethan's sister-in-law Hannah Wilson (Cassie Howarth), who wondered if she was a member of the cult that Ethan had been involved in.[5] Smith said viewers would be surprised by Denny's true identity and teased "it's a bit of a family thing."[5] It later emerged that Denny was Ethan's daughter.[4] In her fictional backstory, Denny was raised by her single mother, but longed to find her father. She had trouble finding him, until she learned of his death.[4] At the funeral, Denny learned that she had half-siblings, Evelyn (Philippa Northeast) and Oscar MacGuire (Jake Speer), and she was keen to form a relationship with them.[4]

After moving to Summer Bay, Denny found employment at the local bait shop run by town stalwart Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher), and developed a close working relationship with him.[7] Smith explained that Denny saw Alf as a father figure, making it the first time she had had that type of relationship in her life. Denny liked that she could talk to Alf about life's issues and get a straight answer.[7]

Lincoln Younes (left) and Johnny Ruffo (right) portray Denny's first love interests Casey Braxton and Chris Harrington.

A few months after Denny's introduction, she developed a romance with Chris Harrington (Johnny Ruffo).[8] Smith commented that her character thought Chris was "really cute". When Denny tried to flirt with him, he was oblivious to her advances.[8] But Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger) noticed Denny's interest in Chris and told him to take her on a date, in exchange for adding his meal ideas to the Diner menu.[8] Chris and Denny went on a boat ride and he enjoyed the date. However, when he accidentally revealed Irene's bribe, an angry Denny took off in the boat, leaving Chris stranded on the beach.[8] Smith said Denny was upset with Chris because he was not honest and upfront with her. She told him to forget about the date, but Chris began pursuing her.[7]

Weeks later, Denny tells Chris that she had fallen in love with him, but Chris did not react well and Smith noted that he "starts freaking out".[9] Denny was not impressed and told him to come and find her when he had thought things through. While Denny was waiting for Chris, she developed a connection with Casey Braxton (Lincoln Younes).[9] Smith told Rebecca Lake from TV Week, "Denny is a bit taken aback by Casey. She thinks he's so hot!"[9] When Chris spotted them together, he was wary of their chemistry and questioned whether he had messed up his romance with Denny.[9] Ruffo explained that Chris was "definitely falling for Denny", but he developed doubts about Casey and believed that he had competition for her.[10]

Smith was aware that Denny would eventually have a love interest, and thought it was "cool" knowing that she had two men fighting over her, instead of having Denny and another female character fighting over one man.[2] She commented, "I was like, 'This is great. I'll just sit back and they can fight it out'."[2] Denny and Chris's romance suffered due to her growing feelings for Casey, and Chris's inability to make a decision about whether he was ready for an adult relationship.[11] Casey had also fallen for Denny, despite her previously rejecting him.[11] Denny cancelled her gym membership in an effort to avoid Casey, but Younes said that it just encouraged Casey to "man up" and take action.[11] Denny and Casey then shared a kiss on the beach.[12] Smith said it was out of character for Denny and she felt guilty, as she did not want to hurt Chris, but the kiss made her realise how she really felt about Casey.[12] When asked which man she would choose, Smith replied "Definitely Casey! He's so funny, lovely, and sexy – and they've had a connection from the start."[12]

Denny became conflicted about whom she wanted to be with and began avoiding Chris. She later admitted to him that she was confused as Casey also liked her.[13] Chris then broke up with her and punched Casey. Denny asked Chris to take her back, but he refused as he knew that she only wanted to be with him out of guilt.[13] Denny realised that Chris was right and thanked him for being brave enough to end their relationship when she could not. Denny then told Casey about her feelings for him and they began dating.[13] Younes described their relationship as "honest" and said they really liked each other. He also hinted that she might be "the one" for Casey.[14]

Denny and Casey's relationship progressed and Smith commented, "Casey and Denny are really loved-up. It's nice. They kind of have had their ups and downs. And they still butt heads a lot and they still have these little fights. But now they are like, 'Oh, no, actually you're awesome.'"[15] Smith branded the couple "cute" and thought they were a good match for each other.[15] Denny and Casey's relationship was tested when Andy Barrett's (Tai Hara) drug troubles came between them.[16] Casey kept getting in the middle of Andy's dramas, which annoyed Denny as she did not like Andy. When Denny questioned Casey about his involvement with Andy, it became a big issue between them.[16] Chris also caused problems when he misread a moment with Denny and kissed her.[17] Chris invited Denny to spend some time with him when he noticed that she seemed down.[17] Denny spoke to Chris about her struggles with Casey and Andy's relationship. When she thanked Chris for listening to her, he kissed her and she threw him out.[17]

Andy's involvement with drug dealers later led to Casey and Denny being held hostage. While they were at the gym, three men arrived and pinned Casey to some gym equipment.[18] Smith explained that Denny was scared and finally realised how badly Andy had messed up. Denny managed to text Casey's brother Darryl Braxton (Stephen Peacocke), but the men left before he arrived.[18] Denny continued to worry about the trouble Andy had brought to her relationship and her family, but she managed to put her worries aside to help with preparations for the a school formal.[15] When she admitted to Casey that she had missed her own school formal, Casey organised a romantic dinner for them at Angelo's.[15] Stephen Downie of TV Week noted that in that moment they both realised how much they meant to each other.[15]

Weeks later, Casey was shot dead by Jake Pirovic (Fletcher Humphrys) while attempting to rescue Andy's brother Josh (Jackson Gallagher).[19] When Casey learned that Josh had been taken by Jake and his men, he put his plans with Denny on hold to go after them.[19] Casey reassured Denny that everything would be fine, but Denny was unconvinced and told Brax about the situation. While the brothers were arguing, Jake fired a gun through the window and killed Casey.[19] After learning that Casey had died, Denny was consumed by grief and struggled to cope, resulting in her collapse after his funeral.[20] When she admitted to Alf that she could not face going to Angelo's or the beach, he offered her support and told her that she was stronger than she thought.[20] Smith said filming the "hard-hitting scenes" was challenging to her as an actress.[20]

A few months after Casey's death, Denny met Bay newcomer Martin "Ash" Ashford (George Mason) when he offered to help her fix her car. Ash was impressed by Denny's "feisty nature" when she turned him down.[21] When Denny then saw Ash working at Angelo's, they started flirting. Brax then warned Ash off Denny, explaining that she had been Casey's girlfriend.[21] When Ash later offered his condolences for Casey, Denny was "uncomfortable", but there was an obvious chemistry between them.[21] Denny developed a crush on Ash, but she was reluctant to start a relationship with him as she was still grieving for Casey.[22] Smith told an Inside Soap columnist, "It's the first time she's been attracted to someone since Casey died, so I think she's just trusting her instinct. But it's definitely not all smooth sailing."[22] Denny received advice from John Palmer (Shane Withington) about moving on after the death of a partner. She then made the first move and kissed Ash, but he soon ran off leaving her confused by his reaction.[22] Ash later organised a day of romance for them both, telling Denny that he wanted to spend the whole day and night with her.[23] Denny was "a little nervous", but decided that she was ready to consummate their relationship. However, she felt odd about it afterwards.[23]

In early September 2015, Denny was named as one of five potential murder victims for an upcoming storyline.[24] Stephen Downie (TV Week) reported that one of the characters would be "brutally killed off".[24] Downie speculated that Denny might have made herself a target after voicing her suspicions about newcomer James Edmunds (Myles Pollard), as well as learning that Brax was still alive.[24] In the episode broadcast on 14 September, Denny died after suffering a head injury during a fight with Charlotte King (Erika Heynatz).[25] Denny had been due to leave the Bay to go backpacking around Europe, but shortly before she left, she discovered Charlotte with a stolen safe from The Diner.[25] As Denny and Charlotte fought over it, Denny hit her head and died instantly.[25]

Smith did not mind being killed off, saying, "When I found out that was happening to my character I thought, 'Oh my God, they love me enough to kill me'. I thought, if you kill someone off, the public must really care about that character. Otherwise they would just send them off to university."[25] She later admitted to being shocked to learn of her character's fate, but was happy to have that kind of closure, so she could move on to other roles.[26] Smith thought it was fitting that Denny's death mirrored that of Casey's, and she added that as both characters were dead they could be together at last.[26] Series producer Lucy Addario stated that Denny's "sudden and accidental death" would be the catalyst for Charlotte's downfall.[27]